MoEF&CC FORMS CEC ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

 

Latest Context

A new Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has been established by the Ministry of Environment in place of an ad hoc expert group that provided advice to the Supreme Court on issues relating to the environment and the forest.

This action was taken after the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act of 2023 was signed into law.

Background

• Tushar Mehta, the Solicitor General, requested in May 2023 that the Union Government submit a proposal to the SC that will make the committee a permanent statutory body.
• "A step in the interest of stakeholders," the SC characterized the decision to create CEC as a permanent statutory body.
• The SC evaluated the ministry's plan in August 2023 and gave the Government permission to establish CEC as a permanent body.
• The Union Government issued a notification on September 5, 2023, announcing the appointment of new CEC members.
• The committee was required to report to the SC prior to the notification's dissemination.
• The notification makes it clear that if the State or Central Government rejects any suggestions or recommendations made by the CEC, they must provide written justification for their decision, and the Central Government's decision is final.

History of CEC

• The historic case of N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India & Ors (1997) is where the CEC was first established.
• This case, which was first brought in 1995, concerned the preservation and protection of one of India's ecologically vulnerable regions.
• The SC established the CEC in 2002 after realizing the necessity for a specialized body to aid in the resolution of complicated environmental issues.
• In the year 2008, the committee was reconstituted.

Constitution of New CEC

• Composition:

• The committee will be made up of a chairperson, a secretary, and three Expert members.
• The old committee also had members from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), but the NGO members are no longer present at all in the new committee.

• Qualification:

• A large administrative task or 25 years of expertise in the environmental, forestry, or wildlife domains are required of the chairperson.
• He will serve for three years.
• The Secretary must be no lower than a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) or director in the GSA and have 12 years of experience in environmental, forestry, or wildlife issues.
• The, one representative from each of the environmental, forestry, or wildlife affairs must have expertise of at least.

Major Contributions of CEC

• It provided a thorough study on illegal mining in Goa in 2012.
• It released a report in 2014 criticizing the Odisha government for producing iron ore and manganese without receiving environmental approval or after the time frame specified in the state's mining leases for receiving environmental approval.
• It commented on a case brought before it by the Kudremukh Wildlife Foundation and others about the alleged illegal conversion of forest areas in the Karnataka region to non-forest uses.
• It denied the SC's approval in May 2023 for the duplication of railroad tracks from Castle Rock in Karnataka to Kulem in Goa.

 

 

 

 

 

Q. How has India's Central Empowered Committee (CEC) helped to shape environmental policies and ensure that Supreme Court directives are followed, and what recent developments have raised questions about its efficacy?

 

 

 

 

 

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